Free Strip by Thomas Perry

weird way.” It was the girl in the lime green, who was still at her table behind him.
    He looked into the mirror at her. “No, please. Don’t feel that way. I was trying to think of a way to talk to you anyway.”
    Her smile came back. “What did you want to say?”
    “That I wanted to talk to you”
    “So now what do you want to say?”
    He shrugged. “That you’re beautiful. I suppose everybody who talks to you says that.”
    “Pretty much. Men say that to every girl the first time they talk, no matter what she looks like. After that, most of them seem to think of something smarter to say.”
    “I’m not very smart. Did your friend get mad because you were looking at me?”
    “Not really. She went to the ladies’ room to give us a chance to see if we had anything.”
    “What would we have?”
    “Potential.”
    “I think we do. Would your friend mind if you and I went somewhere for an after-dinner drink?”
    “She’s my sister—a year older. Please don’t say you thought so. It’s like saying you had the right answer on the tip of your tongue. You didn’t.”
    “No, I didn’t”
    “So you’ve decided to be honest.”
    “Yeah. To tell you the truth I never really looked at her. From the first second, it was you all the way. She was just the person who came in with you”
    She laughed. “You’re such a liar. You have that plain, innocent face, and you never go out of character. Are you an actor?”
    “Maybe I’m telling the truth. I’m a simple guy.”
    “I saw you look at both of us the second we came in the door. When my sister turned around to sit down, you were staring at her ass. I saw you.”
    “The mirror distorts things. I was probably looking at my shirt to see if I got gravy on it.”
    “What’s your name?”
    “Jeff”
    “Show me your license.”
    He took out his wallet and handed her his driver’s license.
    “Arizona? You live in Arizona?” She seemed disappointed.
    “No. I moved here a couple of months ago.”
    She handed it back to him. “It says Jefferson Davis Falkins, all right. It’s also expired. You might want to do something about that before you get arrested.”
    “I will. At least before I get executed. What’s your name?”
    “Carrie.”
    “I won’t ask for your license. But will you give me your phone number?”
    “I haven’t decided yet. What do you do?”
    “I haven’t decided yet.”
    “Then no.”
    “I’m an entrepreneur. I invest in good ideas, turn them into businesses, run them for a while to prove they work, and then sell them.” He had heard someone say that on television and it had sounded good to him. “That’s why I don’t know yet what business I’m going to be in.”
    “Is that true?”
    He rolled his eyes. “I’ve never lied to you before, have I?”
    “No, never in all these years.” Her eyes focused on something beyond his head, and she quickly took a business card out of her purse and handed it to him, then withdrew her hand.
    He could tell it must be her sister coming back, so he palmed the card and said, “When can we go for a drink? Are you free later?”
    “After we pay our check, give me an hour to get back here.”
    He nodded, pocketed the card, and then Carrie’s sister reappeared. As she prepared to resume her place at the table, Jeff stood and held out his hand. “Hi” he said. “My name is Jeff. I thought I should introduce myself.”
    The sister looked down at his hand with distaste. “Why?”
    He let his hand drop and she turned to Carrie. “Are you two friends now?”
    “We’ve just been talking for a minute.”
    Jeff said, “Is it okay to say I can see the resemblance now?”
    “Resemblance to what?” The sister seemed suspicious, hostile.
    “Each other. You’re sisters.”
    The woman glared at Carrie. “We are not sisters.”
    Carrie shrugged and smiled at Jeff. “We’re such close friends that it feels like sisters sometimes. This is Laura.”
    Laura looked at Jeff with undisguised